Chikkamagaluru: All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) and parents staged a protest at Azaf Park here Friday, against the closure of govt schools under the KPS Magnet scheme.AIDSO state unit president Ashwini KS said, “Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule dedicated their entire lives to schools. The previous BJP govt attempted to close 13,800 govt schools in the name of ‘merging.’ At that time, we saved those schools through a statewide struggle. Now, the Congress govt is set to close 40,000 of them under the KPS Magnet scheme. Ultimately, the goal of all govts seems to be closing state-run schools and snatching education away from poor students,” she alleged.She questioned the govt’s decision to open KPS Magnet schools by taking a loan of Rs 2,500 crore from Asian Development Bank. “Is the govt in such a dire state that it must run schools on loans from private or international banks? Is the tax we pay not enough?” she asked.Ashwini alleged that the govt was attempting to privatise govt schools by outsourcing KPS Magnet schools. She said the scheme violated the Right to Education Act, which mandates that a primary school must be available within a 1-km radius.“The vision of great revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was that people should question injustice. However, today’s governments are taking away the very education that teaches a questioning mindset,” she said.State treasurer Subhash Bettadakappa said that in Chikkamagaluru district, 15 Magnet schools had been selected, and over 150 schools were being closed under the pretext of merging. He said the district’s hilly terrain and poor roads made walking difficult in many villages. “How can the govt provide bus facilities in such terrain?” he asked.He said most parents in the area were labourers on coffee estates and pointed to risks associated with forest-adjacent villages. “Under these circumstances, how can parents trust the govt and send their children kilometres away to another village? Who will be responsible if something happens to those children? Is the govt ready to take responsibility?” he asked.Bettadakappa alleged that the govt was closing schools “through the back door” by neglecting infrastructure. He said there were 62,000 vacant teacher posts in the state, over 7,000 single-teacher schools, and more than 23,000 school buildings in urgent need of repair.AIDSO leaders Chaitra and Shusma, Dalit Sangharsha Samithi leaders Lakshman and Harish, villagers Chetan and Yogesh, and leaders from farmer and Dalit organisations were present.
